Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-09-22
UNCLE SANS COOKS.
Remarkable Increase OF Useless Govern
menf Publications..

Remarkable Increase OF Useless Govern
ment Publications.
Books! Books! Books every where,
but nothing to read!' exclaimed a
Government official as he called the
attention of a visitor to big pile OF
books Just received from the Govern
ment Printing Office.
Their appearance is attractive. J"
suggested the visitor. smiling at the
poetical paraphrase of his friend.
Yes. they look very well on the
outside" he assented, ''but, like the
apples we used to read about, and like
these. to our dismay, we discover,
after we have bitten into a rosy
cheek, they have nothing inviting or
attractive within the covers"
'.In other words, they are Govern
ment publications. remarked re-
porter, who overheard the converse
ton.
THAT is it exactly" said the off :
cial. ''Those words are becoming
synonymous with stupidity and a
dreary waste-stale, fiat and unprofit-
able. It used to be, when people
wanted figure for supreme dullness,
they spoke of the Patent Office re-
ports, but now the Government publ
cations are likely to take the place.
They arn't any worse than they use
to be. observed the reporter.
perhaps not" said the Off cial,
gently signing, 'but there are more of
them. The annual reports are increas-
ing in bulk, and there are publications
of all kinds and every description.
The bureau officers have the elaborate
reports now, and some of them are
illustrated; the clerks write essays, and
they are printed. There is great
printing-press constantly at work. and
any quantity of white paper is wasted.
Every thing is printed. There is no
check or balance. 1t is free press
with a vengeance, and, as long as it
costs nothing, no one is going to take
any trouble to condense or abbreviate
matter for the printer. 1t is much
easier to print. The consequence is
that vast piles of material are thrown
into the Government printing office
hopper, and handsome books are
ground out by the million. Sometimes
there is no index. and sometimes an in
complete index. A mass of undigested
stuff put together in very careless
manner.
'.Now look at this big volume" he
went on. picking up book lying on
his desk. THAT is only part of an an
nual report. 1t is made up of long
tables of no value. letters written by
citizens and official letters. long
dispositions giving the views of
some men whose opinions are
entirely worthless, and so it
goes. There is no concise, orderly
statement of the facts. If you want to
know what has been done by any bu-
reau You have got to root around in a
lot of stuff. and as likely rs not fail to
find the diamond you are after. l
would rather take a trip through Cen
trail Africa than try to make a sum-
mary of a government publication, and
think that would do the first with
considerable less fatigue and injury to
my health"
ut will be worse this year. The
bureau chiefs and every body else that
can possibly scrape together any thing
ut all are now hard at work gathering
the trash. and these reports, which are
known to be minor reports, are larger
in many instances than that of the
head of the department.. 1t is nothing
new. Why in 1885 Congress passed a
law to check this very thing, and this
is what they enacted:
That it shall not be lawful for the head Of any
Executive Department, or of any bureau,
branch or Office OF the government to cause to
be printed, nor shall the Public Printer print
any document, or matter OF any character what
ever except that which is authorized by law
and necessary to administer the public business,
nor shall any bureau officer embrace in his an
nual or other report to be printed, any matter
not directly pertaining to the duties OF his office
as prescribed by law.
What good did it do? No good. 1t
can't be stopped. 1t is a madness. a
kind of frenzy. There is an ambition
to make big books, and it can't be
checked" " Washington Star